A few days ago, I was running late to school. I was rushing out the door before I stopped so abruptly that my sister bumped straight into me. I realized I had forgotten a mask, but did I need one? Is Covid 19 over?

Quarantine was a weird time. Everyone moved to their own private island 6 feet apart in one week. I went to class on my couch and took tests on my bed. We projected our faces onto screens and our voices over miles. Going back to school was even weirder, with face masks, fogged-up glasses, and copious amounts of hand sanitizer. I long for the day I pull a mask out of an old coat pocket and laugh. I want to be able to say the words “Remember covid?” I am just as sick of covid as everyone else, but how can we be positive it’s over?

Experts are very conflicted about the end of covid, so why can’t they cough up an answer? There are several definitions of “over” and several diagnostic indicators. By the literal definition, covid is not over because there are still active covid cases. But by that definition, most viruses will never be over. That would be like saying 1800s fashion isn’t over because a few people like history. Even something more quantitative doesn’t help. For example, what does a percent sign mean if each community has different population levels, vaccination levels, mask-wearing rates, and social distancing? There is no fever pitch where the graph goes down, and we can say, “Ah ha! Covid is now under X%! We are safe now. You can now use the 5-second rule and double dipping again!” So maybe a better question is, when can we stop worrying about covid?

That is an even more loaded question. Risk factors an individual may have only added to the confusion and concern. We all respond to Covid differently. We all have our worries, our doubts, and our risks. Whether you are worried about yourself or a loved one or don’t want to spread it accidentally, we all have to go at our own pace. There will never be zero cases, and we have to accept that. At the same time, we need to accept the choices of those around us. We all have the right to change our minds and feel safe. So we finally regained enough of our smell to sniff out the answer and unmask it: Covid is over when you think it’s over. So when is your pandemic over?